EP0566976A1 - Process and device for supplying liquids or gases - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention makes provision for a method for supplying liquids or gases, especially for supplying heating oil from a mobile tanker into individual tanks, in the case of which, at least one additive with a predeterminable mixing ratio is injected into the filling pipe and added to the liquid or gas during the supply process using a metering device. The supply device has a metering device (10) with a supply container (11) for an additive and with an injection device (20), especially a pump arrangement, which is provided with a control unit (15) to permit the automatic, continuous or non-continuous activation of the injection device (20). <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a method and a device for filling liquids or gases, which have to be transferred from or into a mobile or stationary tank and in which the addition of a defined substance in a predetermined amount is necessary to achieve a desired mixing ratio.

The invention relates in particular to a filling method and a filling device for heating oil, which is transferred in a controllable amount from a mobile tank vehicle into individual tanks, in particular house tanks, and mixed with an additive to improve the combustion and thus to increase the efficiency of a heating system.

It is customary to offer these additives in plastic containers, so-called containers, and to empty them manually into one of these tanks after filling the usually several heating oil tanks of a customer.

The additives are principally self-mixing. For homogeneous mixing, however, it is necessary to switch off the oil heating for almost 24 hours. In addition to this ineffective downtime, the manual additive has proven itself as an additional and time-consuming process, which also only allows inaccurate dosing of the additive because of the standard liter fillings.

The invention has for its object to provide a method and an apparatus for filling liquids and gases, in particular heating oil, which ensure a simple and reliable addition of at least one additive in an exact dosage and a homogeneous mixing substantially without waiting.

According to the invention, the object is achieved in terms of method by the characterizing features of claim 1 and in terms of the device in accordance with the characterizing part of claim 3. Advantageous and expedient refinements are contained in the subclaims and in the exemplary embodiments.

The basic idea of the invention is to add at least one additive to a filling quantity of a liquid or a gas in a predefinable mixing ratio during the entire filling process. Homogeneous mixing already takes place in the filling line into which the additive is injected continuously or discontinuously with the aid of a metering device and depending on the liquid or gas to be filled. The injections are determined with respect to the volume and the intervals as a function of the predetermined mixing ratio and the actual value of a quantity measurement in the filling line with the aid of an electronic control device.

The device according to the invention for filling liquids or gases provides a metering device in addition to a measuring device for detecting the amount, for example the volume, the liquid or gas to be filled before, which makes it possible to add at least one additive to the medium to be filled during the entire filling process. The filling device according to the invention is particularly suitable for filling and for additizing heating oil, which is why only heating oil is referred to below as the substance to be filled. However, other liquid or gaseous substances are not excluded.

According to the invention, the metering device has a storage container for an additive and an injection device, which are connected to one another via an intake line, so that a defined amount, in particular a defined volume, of an additive is drawn in by the injection device and injected into the filling line at an increased pressure, and thus the Heating oil can be added.

The metering device advantageously has a control unit for automatic, continuous or discontinuous activation of the injection device in order to specify the injection frequency and / or the injection volume as a function of the filling quantity of the heating oil and the desired mixing ratio of additive and heating oil.

If an electronic quantity measuring device is connected to a measuring element arranged in the heating oil filling line, so that, for example, the temperature of the heating oil can be used to determine a temperature-corrected filling quantity, it is particularly expedient to connect an electronic computing unit for programmable activation of the injection device to the control unit. There is then the advantageous possibility of adding a precisely defined volume to the heating oil flowing in the filling line in programmable quantity steps, to achieve a given mixing ratio. For a commercial mixing ratio of 1: 4000, for example, the injection device would have to be activated after every 20 liters of filled heating oil in order to inject a volume of 5 ml of an additive.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the microelectronic arithmetic unit is provided with an input so that the mixing ratio can be changed manually or via an electronically stored route plan. For this purpose, the flow rate between the individual, stepwise additives has to be increased or decreased. For example, when the injection device is activated at intervals of 10 l of filled fuel oil, a mixing ratio of 1: 2000 can be achieved if 5 ml injection volume of the additive is used.

An advantage of the programmable additive is the possibility to save the fuel oil filling quantity and the quantity of the additive and to send it for further evaluation. For example, the delivery documents can be created on the basis of a saved route plan, or the recorded additives can be used for invoicing.

For safety reasons, the injection device is a mechanically operated pump arrangement, in particular in the form of a compressed air pump, which is used to generate an injection pressure that is above the pressure prevailing in the filling line, for example two piston-cylinder units which can be actuated together and have a suction chamber for the one from the storage container Additive to be sucked and injected into the filling line.

For programmable control of the injection device, it is expedient that it has a defined piston stroke and thus draws in and injects a defined amount of additive or a defined additive volume.

In the area of the piston movement and expediently also in the area of a clutch which is arranged between the two piston-cylinder units on a common piston rod connecting the pistons, position sensors or displacement sensors are advantageously positioned for the control, which also indicate, for example, a drop in compressed air in the Air supply lines serve. The injection device is controlled and programmable via the position sensors with the aid of control valves in the air supply and air discharge lines. The coupled pistons can be controlled continuously or discontinuously in such a way that the compressed air is switched off and the cylinder is simultaneously vented as soon as the desired piston position has been reached.

A particularly advantageous additive is possible with the aid of a stored characteristic curve of the pump arrangement or the piston positions. A pulse of compressed air of adjustable duration is applied and only then is the piston position queried at the position sensors. This makes it possible to set almost any intermediate status. An exact determination of the respective injection volume is calculated by continuously summing the piston positions. The piston characteristic curve can advantageously be stored in a programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). It is advantageous that with this control less demands are made of the absolute accuracy of a piston stroke and that a back pressure dependency of the pump arrangement, for example a diaphragm pump, is also eliminated.

In an advantageous embodiment, the injection device can also be constructed as a piston-cylinder unit. The one with z. B. Air-loaded working piston can be designed to be double-acting, ie bidirectional, as well as the pressure piston injecting the additive into the filling line. Drive pistons such as pressure pistons are rigidly connected to each other via a piston rod and clutch, so that an accurate and continuous tapping of the position is possible. The area of the working piston is expediently designed to be larger in accordance with the higher injection pressure for injecting the additive into the filling line.

A particular advantage of these two, double-acting working and pressure pistons can be seen in the quasi-continuous possibility of injecting the additive. For this purpose, appropriate intake and injection check valves should be provided on the pressure piston side for the two work areas.

In principle, the pump arrangements of the injection device can be controlled by defining several rest positions or by installing a displacement measuring device in such a way that a quasi-continuous injection of the additive is possible. The corresponding position determination can be provided in the area of the clutch between the working and pressure pistons.

There is also the possibility of providing a plurality of injection devices on the filling line, so that a number of different additive substances can also be injected into the fluid to be filled in accordance with the parameters entered.

Since the filling line required for the transfer can have different lengths, dead volumes of the medium to be filled arise, so to speak, at the beginning of the filling process, which are not mixed with the additive in the appropriate quantitative ratio. To avoid this disadvantage, the control unit or computing unit of the metering device can advantageously have a parameter input by means of which such dead volumes and line lengths can be equalized. It is possible for. B. by entering the corresponding length of the hose line, an injection of a larger volume of the additive at the beginning of the filling process. This can be done both via the corresponding selection on the control unit and, for example, also fully automatically in such a way that the corresponding amount of additive is first injected proportionally to the dead volume without changing the input.

To ensure a smooth additive, it is also advisable to provide the storage container for the additive with at least one fill level indicator, which provides a means of checking, for example a certain minimum amount or even an amount at which a refill process is displayed and / or triggered. In addition, a sensor can be used to control a shut-off valve in the heating oil filling line, so that the heating oil supply can be interrupted automatically if there is no additive.

A check valve is advantageously arranged in the suction line or lines between the reservoir for the additive and the injection device as well as in the injection line or in its supply lines.

To monitor the injection device, it is expedient to use a sensor as a flow monitor, which is arranged, for example, near the injection point in the injection line. With such a sensor, it can be checked whether a stroke movement of the cylinders of the pump arrangement actually causes an additive.

The advantages of equipping a filling device with a metering device according to the invention are an exact and controllable and evaluable metering of the additive or additives. In addition, there is a particularly homogeneous mixing without significant waiting time. The heating system is therefore always available. Since the supply of additive substances in cans or bottles can be omitted, the additive is no longer associated with the need to remove additional hazardous waste. Ultimately, time is saved in the entire filling process, for example from a mobile tanker.

Fig. 1

ein Prinzipschema einer erfindungsgemäßen Abfüllvorrichtung mit einer ersten Variante einer Injektionseinrichtung und

Fig. 2

eine zweite Variante einer Injektionseinrichtung.

The invention will be explained in more detail below using two exemplary embodiments. The accompanying drawing shows in a schematic manner in

Fig. 1

a schematic diagram of a filling device according to the invention with a first variant of an injection device and

Fig. 2

a second variant of an injection device.

A liquid to be filled, for example heating oil, is filled into a tank container (not shown) in FIG. 1 via a filling line 8, in which a measuring element 3 for detecting the filling quantity, for example a flow sensor, is positioned. For additives during the In the filling process, a metering device 10 is provided, which has a storage container 11 for an additive, a microelectronic computing unit 21 connected to a control unit 15, and an injection device 20.

In this exemplary embodiment, the injection device 20 is a compressed air pump which has two piston-cylinder units 27, 27 'with two pistons 26, 26' connected via a piston rod 22 to a clutch 19 and with two pressure chambers 29, 29 'which have supply lines 30, 30 'can be supplied with compressed air.

A piston-cylinder unit 27 has a suction chamber 25, into which the additive from the reservoir 11 arrives via a feed line 13 when the pistons 26, 26 ′ move in the direction of arrow A, analogously to the movement of the clutch 19. This suction chamber 25 fills with additive until a control signal triggered by an end position detector 17 or a position detector 18 in the area of the coupling 19 interrupts the compressed air supply into a chamber 29 ″ arranged analogously to the suction chamber 25 via a control valve 32. The compressed air enters the chamber 29 ″ via a feed line 30 ′, as a result of which the pistons 26, 26 ′, which are mechanically connected to one another, are moved in the direction of the arrow A. The air supply lines 30, 30 ', in which there are control valves 32, 33 connected to the control unit 15, are fed via a common supply line 34.

As soon as the pistons 26, 26 'have carried out the corresponding lifting movement during the suction process, which is detected by the position sensors 17 and 18, the compressed air supply is interrupted, so that the piston no longer moves. The control unit 15 calculates from a Specified amount, which was entered or stored by a corresponding preselection on the electronic computing unit 21, and the actual values of the flow sensor 3 in the filling line 8, the interval time that is required for a given injection volume determined by the position sensors 17, 18, 19 to start the batch injection of the additive.

For this purpose, the control valve 33, which applies compressed air to both pistons 26, 26 'via the air supply line 30, is activated by the control unit 15, so that the pressure chambers 29, 29' of the injection device 20 are filled with air. By acting on both pressure chambers 29, 29 ', an increased total pressure is generated in the suction chamber 25, so that the additive contained therein can be injected into the filling line 8 via a check valve 24 and added to the heating oil.

A sensor 23 is arranged in the injection line 28 and expediently after the check valve 24. This sensor 23, for example a flow meter operating on a differential pressure basis or an impeller flow meter, serves as a flow monitor for monitoring the additive by detecting whether an additive is actually being injected during a stroke movement of the pistons 26, 26 'or 52. Of course, the actual flow volume can also be determined.

In order to reduce the pressure in the pressure chambers 29, 29 'and in the chamber 29'', a vent valve 35, 36 is opened in each case. As soon as the pistons 26, 26 'assume the position corresponding to a desired injection volume, which in turn is detected by the position sensors 16 or 18 of the control unit 15, the compressed air supply is switched on the valve 33 is interrupted and a new suction process is generated. A predetermined and controllable filling quantity of heating oil is thus already injected into the filling line 8 in a controllable interval time in each case a defined volume of the additive.

The filling device according to the invention according to FIG. 1 also enables injection control as a function of the characteristic curve of the pump arrangement or the piston position. A compressed air pulse of adjustable duration is applied to the pump cylinder arrangement 27, 27 'and then the position of the pistons 26, 26' is queried at the position sensors 16, 17, 18. In this way, any intermediate volumes can be set, and an exact determination of the delivered injection volume is possible by constantly summing up the piston position. The characteristic curve of the pump arrangement can be stored in a programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).

The amount of additive present in the storage container 11 is monitored by at least one fill level sensor, the measured values of which are fed to the control unit 15. In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1, a fill level sensor 9 is positioned for advance warning in such a way that a defined supply of additive material is displayed for the purpose of refilling. Furthermore, a fill level detector 12 is arranged in a bottom area of the storage container 11, which, possibly with an adjustable delay, can actuate a shut-off valve (not shown) in the filling line 8 via the control unit 15. This makes it possible to interrupt the filling of heating oil if there is no longer any additive in the reservoir 11. To avoid malfunctions, a check valve 14 is arranged in the intake line 13 in the same way as the check valve 24 in the injection line 28.

FIG. 2 shows a variant of the metering device 10 according to FIG. 1. Identical features are provided with the same reference symbols as in FIG. 1. The essential difference in the injection device 50 according to FIG. 2 is that a double-acting working piston 51 and also a double-acting pressure piston 52 are provided for injecting the additive into the filling line 8. The connection of these two pistons is designed analogously to FIG. 1 with a clutch 19 and a corresponding piston rod 22 between the two pistons 51, 52. Due to the double-sided loading of both the working piston 51 and the pressure piston 52 and the design with two feed lines 55, 55 'for the additive and feed lines 58, 58' for the injection line 28 into the filling line 8, with corresponding check valves 53, 53 'and 54,54 'are provided, it is possible here to inject the additive during each direction of action. With an appropriate control, it is also possible to carry out a quasi-continuous injection.

The filling device according to the invention is preferably suitable for dispensing heating oil from a mobile vehicle tank. In addition, it can also be used for other dosing processes with considerable back pressure, whereby multiple cascading is also possible.

Claims (10)

Method for filling liquids or gases, in particular for filling heating oil from a mobile tank vehicle into individual tanks, in which the filling quantity is measured and at least one additive is added,
characterized by
that the additive is injected with a metering device during the filling process in a predeterminable mixing ratio into the filling line and admixed with the liquid or the gas. Method according to claim 1,
characterized by
that a pump arrangement, in particular a compressed air pump, is activated by a control device, that the output volume and / or injection volume and the injection intervals of the pump arrangement by the control device as a function of the target and actual data of the filling quantity of the liquid or gas, of the input Mixing ratio and in particular can be determined from a stored characteristic curve of the pump arrangement. Filling device for liquids or gases, in particular for filling heating oil from a mobile tank vehicle into individual tanks,
with a measuring device provided in a filling line for recording the filling quantity, in particular according to claim 1,
characterized by
that a metering device (10) for adding an additive to the liquid or to the gas, in particular to the heating oil, is provided during the filling and
that the metering device (10) has a storage container (11) for the additive and an injection device (20) for the additive which is connected to the storage container (11) and the filling line (8). Filling device according to claim 3,
characterized by
that the dosing device (10) is provided with a control unit (15) for automatic, continuous or discontinuous activation of the injection device (20) and that the injection device (20) generates an injection pressure which is greater than the pressure prevailing in the filling line (8) . Filling device according to claim 3 or 4,
characterized by
that the injection device (20) is designed as a mechanically operated pump arrangement, in particular as a compressed air pump, which has one or more defined suction and injection volumes and can be activated in an interval time determined by the filling quantity and the adjustable, in particular programmable mixing ratio, and that an electronic computing unit (21) for programmable activation of the injection device (20) is provided. Filling device according to one of the preceding claims 3 to 5,
characterized by
that the injection device (20) has two jointly actuable piston-cylinder units (27, 27 ') with a suction chamber (25) for the additive to be sucked out of the storage container (11) and injected into the filling line (8), and that the pistons (26,26 ') of the piston-cylinder unit (27, 27'), which are connected via a piston rod (22) provided with a coupling (19), for sucking the additive into the suction chamber (25) and for injecting the Additive in the filling line (8) via two pressure chambers (29, 29 ') to be pressurized with compressed air. Filling device according to one of claims 3 to 5,
characterized by
that the injection device (50) has a double-acting piston-cylinder unit (51, 52) which is provided with a working piston (51) designed according to the injection pressure and a pressure piston (52) for the additive, both pistons (51, 52 ) are designed bidirectionally. Filling device according to one of the preceding claims 3 to 7,
characterized by
that in each case a check valve (14, 24, 53, 53 ', 54, 54') in a suction line (13, 55, 55 ') between the storage container (11) and a suction chamber (25) and / or in the injection line (28 ) or in the feed lines (58, 58 ') to the injection line (28),
that the reservoir (11) for the additive is provided with at least one level sensor (12, 13) for checking and pre-warning and / or for controlling a shut-off valve in the filling line (8) and
that a sensor (23) is arranged as a flow monitor and / or as a flow meter for the additive in an injection area of the injection line (28). Filling device according to one of the preceding claims 3 to 8,
characterized by
that the injection device (20) for control and monitoring is provided with sensors, in particular with position sensors (16, 17, 18) arranged in the stroke range of the pistons (16, 17, 18), that the respective injection volume can be determined with the aid of stored piston characteristics , and that a temperature-corrected quantity measurement of the liquid or gas to be filled activates the injection device (20), continuous injection control being provided, in particular taking dead volumes into account in the filling line (8). Filling device according to one of claims 3 to 9,
characterized by
that several units of the filling device are provided for the parallel injection of several different additive substances into the filling line (8) and that the actual values of the filling quantity and / or additives are fed to an electronic storage unit for further evaluation, in particular for invoicing.

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